Why did the Liberals win a landslide election in 1906.

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Why did the Liberals win a landslide election in 1906

Antony Aleagha 12NR

There were many reasons why the Liberals managed a landslide election in 1906. The success of the Liberals and the failure of the Conservatives all of which contributed to the election were one which was a landslide. The Liberals in the 1906 election got 399 seats whereas the closest opposition which was the conservatives gained 196 seats.

The Unionists had been in control since 1886, which was a long while, and Lord Salisbury was getting old and becoming unable because of his health, he resigned in 1902 and Balfour was his replacement. Balfour was not as good of a leader, he lacked political skill to keep the Unionist coalition; he was very indecisive. He was also an aristocrat and therefore did not relate well with the masses, which brought the Unionists little support and helped the Liberals to gain popularity. This is another reason why the Unionists contributed to the Liberal victory of 1906.

There were three miscalculations which were made by Balfour which led to the decline of the Unionists and the triumph of the Liberals. The education act which was passed by Balfour united the Liberals. After the bill was passed the liberal unionists said that the coalition between them and the conservatives could not afford to strain too far and the loyalties of a powerful group. Another miscalculation involved the letter which Balfour wrote to Chamberlain on the 18th February 1905. In this letter Balfour implied that Chamberlain rather then Balfour, was responsible for the unpopularity of the government after May 1903. In the letter he mentioned that he believed the public would not be prepared to stand for food taxes. This could be seen to have added to the Unionist unpopularity and the Liberals rise. It could be seen that as Balfour was priminister he could have prevented the policy from going through and being potentially damaging.

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Tariff Reform could also be seen as a major reason why the Liberals managed to gain a landslide victory in 1906.

By the time of the 1904 general election the Boer War had been over for two years but four years earlier in the 1900 general elections the conservative government claimed it was very close to success. They used this lie to help them win the election in a similar way Margaret Thatcher used the victory in the Falklands to help her win the 1982 General election. The public where very angry that the war had continued for another ...

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